ABB Group has pledged support for the newly introduced, European-wide Clean Bus Deployment Initiative.

With the Paris climate agreement underway, this EU initiative will see the launch of a declaration of intent, which will encourage vehicle and charger manufacturers, transport operators and regional and local authorities to promote the use of and roll-out of clean, alternatively fuelled buses across Europe.

The initiative, thought to be the first of its kind, seeks to encourage collaborative working and action between infrastructure providers, transport operators and bus manufacturers. The current share of alternatively fuelled buses in the European bus fleet is forecast to increase from approximately 10-12 per cent to 30 per cent by 2025 as a result.

The declaration will also encourage the need to foster growth of zero-emission buses and promote the ways in which low-emission mobility can bring significant economic and social benefits.

“This new EU initiative aligns with our vision for creating a smarter, reliable and more efficient world and we are very excited about its potential,” said Frank Muehlon, head of ABB’s global business for electric vehicle charging.

“As an established technology pioneer and global leader, our aim is to deliver open standard, scalable technology through continuous innovation by working with our markets to ensure that EV charging can be made accessible and compatible to all.”

Despite Europe lagging in its adoption of electric vehicles, compared to Asia and China which have had more than 173,000 electric buses on the road since 2015, the tide is reportedly turning and public support for electric vehicles is growing.

According to ABB, this new EU declaration will go some way to cement Europe’s future in electric vehicles and build on the development of a sustainable transport network for every citizen.

ABB claims to have been a pioneer in enabling smarter, greener and emission-free transport networks across the globe through its EV charging infrastructure and its ABB Ability platform, which allows for end-to-end network management for commercial vehicles such as buses.

Its eBus portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products and services to lay firm foundations from which the initiative can be managed and sustainably maintained.

The portfolio leads with an internet-based charging infrastructure, which supports a number of charge points across any bus network, supports all EV charging standards and integrates three key areas of operation, including onboard components, off-board infrastructure and connected services.

ABB said the Ability platform also provides operators and transport managers with a scalable solution from grid-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-grid, for any location type and connected service, while ABB’s internet connected chargers enable fast global service, pro-active and transparent fault finding and maintenance, and fast payment.

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